Mobile City Council greenlights new recycling plan

Mobile's new single-stream recycling program, already up and running at two sites, has finally gotten City Council approval, potentially opening the way for residents in every district to have their own drop-off center.

Two contracts related to the program first appeared on the Council's agenda in mid-April. Officials from the administration of Mayor Sandy Stimpson said they expected the plan to have multiple benefits: Citizens wouldn't have to manually separate their recyclables, as they'd previously had to do at the city's sole drop-off point, and the city would save money. Stimpson also argued that the plan would help bring up the city's lackluster recycling rate.

While no one on the council voiced opposition in April, some raised concern that the plan might inadvertently lead to a fresh round of legal battles between the city's Solid Waste Authority and Waste Management Inc., which has the contract to dispose of Mobile's garbage. In a previous dispute, Waste Management won a multi-million-dollar judgment against the Solid Waste Authority.

As the council waited for assurances that the two parties had discussed the matter and reached an understanding, it postponed a vote on the two contracts again, and again, and again. Meanwhile the city proceeded with its pilot program as if approval was a done deal.

That didn't actually become the case until Tuesday. District 6 Councilwoman Bess Rich, who had been among those feeling "some uneasiness" about the potential for conflict, said she had recently been advised by council attorney Jim Rossler that the Solid Waste Authority had given its "stamp of approval" to the recycling plan.

The council promptly approved the two contracts without opposition. Stimpson was out of town, as one of 40 mayors attending the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, but issued a statement applauding the move.

"I want to thank the City Council for collaborating with us to create a cleaner, greener community," Stimpson said. "In the past, the City has simply not devoted enough resources or attention to recycling, but that is all about to change. Our ultimate goal is to create a more robust recycling program while eliminating litter throughout our City. When recycling is more convenient and less confusing, more people recycle and people who recycle are less tolerant of litter."

As things currently stand, the city's longtime recycling center at 1451 Government St. has been closed. A new site is in operation less than two miles to the west, off Pinehill Drive behind Mobile Police Headquarters. Another new site is in business at the city's Western Administrative Complex, in Langan Municipal Park across from the Mobile Museum of Art. Both operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends.

Speaking to the Council on Tuesday, Executive Director of Public Services Bill Harkins said the city is working to identify additional sites, and hopes eventually to have one in each council district. The city wants to locate the drop-off sites on property that already is owned by the city, he said.

The first of the two contracts approved Tuesday allocates $125,000 through Sept. 2019 to the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority for the "acceptance and processing of source separated recyclables." The second provides $900,000 over three years to pay Amwaste LLC for "the rental of equipment to collect and transport recyclables."

Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Councilwoman Rich said she received assurance that the city's Solid Waste Authority had approved the plan, not that Waste Management Inc. had done so.